From 1974 to 1977, I spent a lot of time in church. My family and I went to Grace Free Will Baptist Church. I was very involved in the youth program including the Choir.
By 1976 our youth choir was traveling via church bus to other churches in the area and singing. We had a lot of Bill Gaither songs that we enjoyed singing and we were pretty good. We went somewhere in Raleigh for the finals. We had to change our group type to a Choral group instead of choir because we came in 2nd and they allowed us to change our designation to get there.
The girls also had a song or two that we sang without the guys. We were called a sextant. We won medals for both the choral group and sextant.
The All Night Bake Sale
We won the opportunity to sing at the Southern Baptist Church Convention hosted that year in Tulsa Oklahoma. In order to pay our way, we had several activities, bake sales, car washes, and one very interesting all night coffee stop/bake sale. We were on CB radios talking to truck drivers and other folks and getting them to come get coffee and baked goods. That was fun! There were lots of adults there to ensure we teenagers didn't get in any trouble. People would stop and donate money toward our trip.
We all took turns on the CB radio, talking to people bringing them in. If someone tried to get fresh with the girls, the guys would get on the radio and set them straight. In one situation 13 year old Chris W was on the CB radio (in a car where we were all sitting), and this one woman on the other side of the conversation started hitting on him. His expression was hilarious. I grabbed the CB radio and told her that he was my boyfriend and lay off. Her 'handle' (the name you go by over the CB radio) was "Sweet Nicki from Chocolate City". He wasn't my boyfriend. I was 16 and I was hanging out with his 17 year old brother Lynn.
We also all took turns on the other activities like serving coffee and baked goods to our customers. Taking the donations and providing to some adult there to keep for us. We made enough for all of us to go on the trip. We took some money from our parents or our jobs (if we worked).
The Trip to Tulsa Oklahoma
Day 1 - The Bus Ride to Little Rock Arkansas
That summer, we went to Tulsa Oklahoma. We packed a suitcase and got on that church bus with no air conditioning and headed from Rocky Mount to Tulsa. We had one or two cars following the bus, for some of the adults. Of course, we had some adults in the bus as chaperones.
One of the guys sat in the front of the bus. I remember that he had some small containers of fruit juice and he opened them and then closed them and didn't put them in ice. He basically made him some wine (as the juice would ferment). Preacher's sons. Got to watch out for them.
The route to Tulsa
Day 1 - Left Rocky Mount headed to Oklahoma (drove all night)
Day 2 - Little Rock Arkansas (Motel room - stay overnight)
Day 3 - Oklahoma, Hotel Room, Carnival
Day 4 - Oklahoma, Practice, Oral Roberts University (ORU)
Day 5 - Convention, Competition, Close of convention. Hotel.
Day 6 - Started drove back to NC. Motel room Little Rock.
Day 7 - TN and NC Mountains to home
Preacher D and Youth Pastor Billy K
Preacher D plays leads us in song
Ronny W and Ann T (behind him)
Lynn W and Diane F (beside him)
Anita F and Barbara W (behind her)
Sheila K
Stopping for gas - Rhonda T and Susan T
Susan's Mom and some of the other adults rode behind the bus. The bus had no air conditioning and I actual got car sick (bus sick) on the 1st leg of the trip. I had gotten so hot, that I felt nauseated. We had stopped at a rest stop to eat and I couldn't touch anything. I was allowed to ride in the car for a few hours until I felt better. Its possible it was overnight. The bus driver drove the bus through the night so we could spend less time in hotels. We stopped mid way at Little Rock Arkansas and did get a hotel room that night.
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Day 2 - Bus ride to Little Rock Arkansas
Had dinner and spent the night to get some 'non-bus' rest.
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Day 3 - Travel to Tulsa Oklahoma
Up and out, ate breakfast and went the rest of the way to Tulsa.
Tulsa Oklahoma
Miles and miles of rolling hills, green and lush; landscape dotted with oil rigs.
Just outside city limits there was dam.
As we neared Oklahoma, there was this mass of highways that crossed over each other. With the highways and the exit ramps, it was very confusing and I was glad I wasn't driving.
We verified the location of the Convention Assembly Center and then we went to the motel and got set up.
The Amusement Park
Bell's Amusement Park at the Expo Center of the Tulsa Oklahoma Fairgrounds
At the entryway was the Golden Digger Statue
Bell's Amusement Park was an amusement park located in Tulsa's Expo Square, part of the Tulsa County Fairground in Oklahoma. It operated for 55 years before closing in 2006. The park was especially known for its large wooden roller coaster, called Zingo, designed by John C. Allen and built in 1966–68
Golden Digger
Golden Digger was originally built in 1952 by the Mid-Continent Supply Company of Fort Worth for the International Petroleum Exposition. Six years later, it was temporarily erected again for the 1959 show. Due to the positive attention it attracted, the company donated the statue to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust Authority which had it anatomically redesigned and permanently installed in front of the Tulsa Expo Center for the 1966 International Petroleum Exposition. The statue's right hand rests on an oil derrick which had been moved from a depleted oil field in Seminole, Oklahoma.
An inscription at the base of the statue reads: "The Golden Driller, a symbol of the International Petroleum Exposition. Dedicated to the men of the petroleum industry who by their vision and daring have created from God's abundance a better life for mankind." In 1979, the Golden Driller was adopted by the Oklahoma Legislature as the state monument. As part of an online promotional contest sponsored by Kimberly-Clark in October 2006, the Golden Driller was named the grand prize as a top ten "quirkiest destination" in the United States, winning its nominator a $90,000 international vacation for two
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Day 4 - The Convention Center, The Practice, Oral Roberts University
First Place Tower - Building in downtown Tulsa OK. (Random picture I took)
Tulsa Assembly Center now Cox Business Center, 100 Civic Center, Tulsa, OK
Cox Business Center (originally Tulsa Assembly Center and formerly Tulsa Convention Center) is a 310,625 square foot facility in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma hosting a 7,000 seat arena with event suites, Oklahoma's largest ballroom, 34 meeting rooms, and a 102,600 square foot column-free exhibit hall. Cox Business Center (CBC) is managed by SMG-the world leader in venue management, marketing, and development and owned by the City of Tulsa. In the fiscal year 2015-2016, the economic impact of events held at the CBC was more than $33 million. The facility won the 2017 Venue Excellence Award from the International Association of Venue Managers, along with being chosen as the 2017 Top New or Renovated Meeting Site by Convention South and Best Event Center by Tulsa People readers. The CBC was constructed in 1964 and named for Tulsa Mayor James L. Maxwell who was the driving force behind the planning and start of the venue. In 2013, the Convention Center was renamed Cox Business Center.
The Practice
We had a practice the day before we were to sing in the competition. Our strongest song was a He did it all for me and I will serve thee, sang as below.
He did it all for me
Once a man whom we know as the son of God hung upon a cruel tree
He suffered pain as no mortal man
He took my place he did it all for me
(chorus)
He did it all for me.
Each drop of blood he shed for even me.
When the Savior cried, bowed his head and dead.
Oh Praise the Lord, He did it all for me.
I will serve thee
I will serve thee because I love thee
You have given life to me
I was nothing before you found me
You have given life to me
(CHORUS) Heartaches broken pieces
Ruined lives are why you died on Calvary
Your touch..was what I longed for
You have given life to me
He did it all for me (2nd verse)
When I step just inside of those gates up there
And the Master's face I see
I gladly kneel at his nail-scarred feet
Oh praise the Lord, he did it all for me
He did it all for me, each drop of blood he shed for even me
When the Savior cried, bowed his head and died.
Oh Praise the Lord, He did it all for me.
The Practice - All for 1 and 1 for none:
The pianist at the church that came with us became very upset as she "Came all this way to play 4 notes". See - We sang this beautifully A cappella (no music). So all for one person, we changed to a set of new songs that we sucked at and was just normal stuff. When we were practicing the group that was listening to us....stated how good we were. We told him we were under the category of Choral Groups, not Choir (smaller number of people in it). He said "Whew, you were so good, Glad we aren't competing against you". Just to keep one person happy, we failed miserably.
The Sheraton Hotel -Philtower Building at 427 S Boston Ave, Tulsa, OK
We would do the activities at the Tulsa Assembly Building and all our meals were at this building on the 16th floor. Each day EVERYONE would head up to the 16th floor and you'd have to wait for elevators. We just ran up the 16 flights of stairs so we could get there quicker. I say that like it was an easy feat. Well it was as I was 16. I was still tired and hated the thought of running those steps, but better than waiting for the elevators.
Oral Roberts University
When you're in Tulsa Oklahoma for the Southern Baptist Convention, of course, you go to oral Roberts University (ORU). This was an impressive complex which included a church which televised on TV, and a college, dorms, etc. The complex was impressive. We walked around the inside of the main building/church/offices. Oral Roberts was very impressive and I have listened to many of his sermons.
Oral Roberts University entry
ORU Church and Admin Building
The Prayer Tower
I especially loved the Prayer Tower. It's a lovely piece of art.
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Day 5 - The Convention Center - The competition, Wrap Up and Hotel
We sang the new arrangement and it wasn't strong at all. We didn't do well even though we were on key and all, it was just boring and normal and not cool like our A cappella number.
I was the only person on the other song who could get the beat right with a tambourine. Yes, that tells you how much this song sucked. And when pointed at by Billy K our youth pastor/choir director, I never moved. So, I held this tambourine in my hand and just froze like an idiot.
Singing at the Convention
The Wrap up and Who takes the award
We didn't win. Some church group from Oklahoma (where the convention was) won. We left while they were singing something about Jesus, Turn on the Light. Light was LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIght. (very strong southern "I".
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The drive home.
The most remarkable thing I remember about the trip home, was stopping somewhere and shopping for post cards, or other items. Ronny purchased a 'garbage' pizza instead. A pizza with everything on it. I was so hungry and he offered me a couple of slices. It was so good. Everyone was looking forward to the trip home, but not the actual bus ride.
When I got home, my parents were upset. I hadn't called the whole time I was gone. Again, The preacher wouldn't allow us to go out after we got to the hotel. We were sequestered (more so the girls). We couldn't use the phone in the rooms because of the charges. The phones that were in the hallway (we passed by each time going to our rooms, we couldn't stop everyone so we could call. Dad is still not happy that the preacher wouldn't allow us to use the phones to call home.
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